The Belgian architect Juliaan Lampens set up his practice in 1950 in Eke, near Ghent. His work was influenced by the modern architecture on show at the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair. In 1960 he built his own house, and the residences he subsequently designed have a minimalist, concrete, bunker-like style. Typically his houses are closed off to the public on one side and completely open on the other. Lampens worked almost exclusively in concrete, wood and glass. The House Van Wassenhove displays his Brutalist style, which carries influences from Mies Van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, Oscar Niemeyer and the concrete bunkers that he observed on the Atlantic coast. The house now belongs to the university of Ghent. In 1995 Lampens was awarded the Lampens Belgian Award for Architecture.